Thursday, January 8
Fort Wayne, Ind.
7 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne
vs
Denver
Men's Basketball Looks to Snap Skid on Thursday
1/7/2015 7:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW men's basketball team looks to snap out of its current three-game losing skid with a 7 p.m. tip-off against the Denver Pioneers at the Gates Sports Center on Thursday evening.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
When: Thursday, January 8, 2015 | 7 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Audio: ESPN Radio 1380 AM | Brett Rump, play-by-play; Art Saltsberg, analyst
Live Video: Mastodon All-Access
Live Stats: GoMastodons.com
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
The Mastodons come into the first game of the weekend looking to snap out of its current three-game losing skid against the Pioneers.
In the team's last game, a 63-58 loss at home to the IUPUI Jaguars, where Joe Edwards scored 17 points and Michael Calder 12. Isaiah McCray narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while Joe Reed also grabbed nine rebounds while scoring four points.
For the year the team has four players averaging at least 10 points per game, with a fifth sitting at 9.9 points per game. Steve Forbes paces the squad by averaging 13.3 points per game, with Edwards averaging 11.2. Reed and McCray average 10.4 and 10.3, respectively, while Mo Evans averages 9.9. Max Landis and Michael Calder average 6.9 and 5.2 points per game as reserves.
McCray holds the team rebounding lead, averaging 6.5 boards per game, with Forbes close behind with a 6.2 rebound per game average. Evans leads the team with 50 assists (3.3 per contest), while McCray holds the team-high with 17 blocked shots and 23 rebounds.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Denver comes into its first Summit League road weekend of the season after winning just three of its last eight games.
In the most recent game, a 74-69 loss against South Dakota, Brett Olson scored a game-high 24 points, with Marcus Byrd and Jalen Love each adding 13 and Cam Griffin 10. Nate Engesser led the team with three assists, while Byrd pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Griffin nabbed six.
Preseason Summit League Player of the Year Olson leads the team by averaging 13.4 points per game, with Griffin and Engesser averaging 12.7 and 11.2, respectively. Byrd averages 9.4, while Love puts up 7.0 points per game, fifth most among players with at least 10 games played.
Griffin leads the team with 89 rebounds (5.9 per game), with Byrd grabbing 4.2. As a squad, Denver is out-rebounded by an average of 4.9 rebounds per game, and the teams' 24.4 rebounds per game rank 345th of 355 NCAA Division I teams. Although the team has struggled rebounding, Denver ranks in the top 50 in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, three-point field goals per game, free throw percentage, assists per game, and assist-to-turnover ratio.?
QUINTET SCORING
There are currently five schools - Iowa State, Portland State, Saint Bonaventure, UT-Martin, and Villanova - that have five players averaging double-figure scoring during the season. There are also 13 other programs with four players in double-figure scoring, and a fifth player averaging at least 9.0 points per game. Atop that list is IPFW, whose fifth player (Mo Evans) averages 9.9 points per game. LSU (9.8), UCLA (9.7), Purdue (9.7), Gonzaga (9.6), Minnesota (9.6), and Xavier (9.5) follow behind the Mastodons for the most points per game among the program's fifth highest scorer.
QUICK HITTERS
• The game features the two teams picked first and second by the coaches and the media in the preseason Summit League poll.
• IPFW has put together runs of 10-0 or better in nine of its 15 games this season, with the team totaling 14 different 10-0 or better runs total on the year.
• Forbes currently ranks 27th in the country in career field goal percentage among active players.
• IPFW was picked to finish first in the Summit League in the preseason poll of the league's head coaches, SIDs, and select media members.
• The two teams split the meetings a year ago, with each team winning on the others' home court.?
~ Feel the Rumble ~
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
When: Thursday, January 8, 2015 | 7 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Gates Sports Center
Audio: ESPN Radio 1380 AM | Brett Rump, play-by-play; Art Saltsberg, analyst
Live Video: Mastodon All-Access
Live Stats: GoMastodons.com
SCOUTING THE MASTODONS
The Mastodons come into the first game of the weekend looking to snap out of its current three-game losing skid against the Pioneers.
In the team's last game, a 63-58 loss at home to the IUPUI Jaguars, where Joe Edwards scored 17 points and Michael Calder 12. Isaiah McCray narrowly missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while Joe Reed also grabbed nine rebounds while scoring four points.
For the year the team has four players averaging at least 10 points per game, with a fifth sitting at 9.9 points per game. Steve Forbes paces the squad by averaging 13.3 points per game, with Edwards averaging 11.2. Reed and McCray average 10.4 and 10.3, respectively, while Mo Evans averages 9.9. Max Landis and Michael Calder average 6.9 and 5.2 points per game as reserves.
McCray holds the team rebounding lead, averaging 6.5 boards per game, with Forbes close behind with a 6.2 rebound per game average. Evans leads the team with 50 assists (3.3 per contest), while McCray holds the team-high with 17 blocked shots and 23 rebounds.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Denver comes into its first Summit League road weekend of the season after winning just three of its last eight games.
In the most recent game, a 74-69 loss against South Dakota, Brett Olson scored a game-high 24 points, with Marcus Byrd and Jalen Love each adding 13 and Cam Griffin 10. Nate Engesser led the team with three assists, while Byrd pulled down a game-high eight rebounds, while Griffin nabbed six.
Preseason Summit League Player of the Year Olson leads the team by averaging 13.4 points per game, with Griffin and Engesser averaging 12.7 and 11.2, respectively. Byrd averages 9.4, while Love puts up 7.0 points per game, fifth most among players with at least 10 games played.
Griffin leads the team with 89 rebounds (5.9 per game), with Byrd grabbing 4.2. As a squad, Denver is out-rebounded by an average of 4.9 rebounds per game, and the teams' 24.4 rebounds per game rank 345th of 355 NCAA Division I teams. Although the team has struggled rebounding, Denver ranks in the top 50 in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, three-point field goals per game, free throw percentage, assists per game, and assist-to-turnover ratio.?
QUINTET SCORING
There are currently five schools - Iowa State, Portland State, Saint Bonaventure, UT-Martin, and Villanova - that have five players averaging double-figure scoring during the season. There are also 13 other programs with four players in double-figure scoring, and a fifth player averaging at least 9.0 points per game. Atop that list is IPFW, whose fifth player (Mo Evans) averages 9.9 points per game. LSU (9.8), UCLA (9.7), Purdue (9.7), Gonzaga (9.6), Minnesota (9.6), and Xavier (9.5) follow behind the Mastodons for the most points per game among the program's fifth highest scorer.
QUICK HITTERS
• The game features the two teams picked first and second by the coaches and the media in the preseason Summit League poll.
• IPFW has put together runs of 10-0 or better in nine of its 15 games this season, with the team totaling 14 different 10-0 or better runs total on the year.
• Forbes currently ranks 27th in the country in career field goal percentage among active players.
• IPFW was picked to finish first in the Summit League in the preseason poll of the league's head coaches, SIDs, and select media members.
• The two teams split the meetings a year ago, with each team winning on the others' home court.?
~ Feel the Rumble ~
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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